Stories
Our house is a teardown – we love it
We live in a Leaside teardown, and we don’t mind it a bit. In fact we might mind it it more if our house stopped being a teardown. We think our house is doomed when …more
Month: February 2015
Leaside Litterati
It’s time to do something with graffiti
Hi Cheryl: I took a break this morning and did my rounds, until the fingers of my picking-up hand froze. I used my left hand because I’ve gone through all my right-hand gloves and have …more
Stories
Prom drive becomes a labour of love
The drive to find prom dresses and suits to help needy graduating students in Thorncliffe and Flemingdon Park is becoming an annual labour of love for Leasider Alexa Rocca. For the third year in a …more
Local Politics
Let’s move Leaside to another ward
I have just published a book entitled Governing Toronto: Bringing back the city that worked. In it I trace the growth and governance of the city from its creation in 1834 through its successful Metro …more
Stories
Twin towers proposed for Sunnybrook Plaza
Long rumoured but only recently revealed, Sunnybrook Plaza, the first suburban strip plaza built in Toronto, is being proposed for redevelopment. This collection of stores with a parking lot out front was opened on the …more
City Councillor
I will find funds for traffic study
As our traffic committees in both North and South Leaside get started, we will be looking at ways to reduce the volume of traffic. I am aware that residents are tired of hearing about traffic …more
Development
Burnside gets OMB appeal against retail spread
What’s driving change in Leaside? Sure “the market” is a key driver, but the North York Committee of Adjustment, which decides on severances and minor variance applications for properties in residential Leaside and the Leaside …more
Leaside Residents Association
Current bylaws should not be jumping off point
At LPOA’s January public board meeting, The Brown Group presented a new proposal for a block-long, nine-storey condominium- plus-mixed-use building on Bayview Ave., from Hillsdale to Soudan. The current zoning for that block is designated …more
Stories
Leasider writes about Canadian finance giant
Leaside writer Beth Parker has published a new book called Unstoppable, about a little-known Canadian finance system. We asked her about it. Her reply: It’s the business history of an entire industry called the asset-based …more
Stories
So you think you know Petra Grantham
You may well have run into Petra Grantham at a Rolph Road school event, on a soccer field, or on Bayview, but you probably are not aware of what an extraordinary woman she is. Read …more